It’s been a little over a year since Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Christian closed the books on the investigation into the disappearance of more than half a million dollars from the City of Demorest. Now, the book is back open.
Demorest Mayor Rick Austin announced publicly Tuesday that the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation are looking into where the missing money went.
“I want to announce to the public that, starting in December of last year and working through much of the seven months of this year, I have been in conversations with both the IRS and the FBI,” Austin said during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
Three years of investigations and audits
The mayor has doggedly pursued the case since taking office in January of 2014. Dissatisfied with the seeming lack of outside legal oversight, Austin and Council launched an internal investigation. They hired former GBI agent turned private investigator Mike Eason to oversee the probe. Over the course of several months, Eason interviewed approximately 25 individuals, including 17 city officials and employees. Those interviews and subsequent findings revealed that $601,867.70 was stolen from the City between 2009 and 2013.
VIDEO Demorest releases investigation results
At the conclusion of that internal investigation, Austin announced, “This investigation has largely ruled out computer errors or external thefts. The investigation indicates that the person or persons responsible had a strong knowledge of the financial processes of the city.”
Not long after, the GBI concluded its own investigation. Based on the investigative findings and a forensic audit, the district attorney concluded a criminal prosecution could not move forward. Christian told Now Habersham in June of last year, “When large sums of cash are kept, for long periods of time, in an unlocked, unsecured cabinet, with multiple people having access, it is near impossible to bring charges.”
Now, Austin says the IRS and FBI are looking into the matter.
“The public has a right to know, and so this council and this city can consider this matter still open and still under investigation.”
